Act on Your Faith
The Bible tells us many times that “the just shall live by faith”. Faith is believing the
word of God and then acting upon it.
The platform of your faith has to be based on the finished work of Jesus Christ, not
on your own works (Ephesians 2:8-10) says “for by grace are you saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works, less any man
should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works,
which God has before ordained that we should walk in them”. Remember that we
were predestinate to conform to the image of His Son. That should be Good news
because this is God’s plan for us, to look and act like Jesus.
We simply look at what Jesus finished and acknowledge that we get the benefits of
the covenant that He ratified. The death burial resurrection and ascension of Jesus
Christ is what has made us reconciled to God as Adam was before the fall.
The curse which came upon Adam and Eve resulting on all mankind was broken by
Jesus and we have been set free from the curse (Galatians 3:13,29) “Christ has
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written,
cursed is every one that hangs on a tree. And if you be Christ’s then are you
Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”.
Romans 5:15-17 says “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through
the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by
grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded to many. And not as it was
by one that sinned, so is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but
the free gift is of many offences to justification. For if by one man’s (Adam’s) offence
death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the
gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ”. Reigning in life goes
back to having the dominion that God gave to mankind at the beginning (Genesis 1:
26).
Jesus gave us all power, just as He gave the twelve disciples and then the seventy
others, which He sent out two by two into every city and place; and the seventy
returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Your
name. And He said to them in (Luke 10:19), “behold, I give to you power to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by
any means hurt you”. Jesus has given us the power of attorney to use His name.
James says that faith without works is dead (James 2:17-20) “even so faith, if it has
not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say; you have faith, and I have
works; show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my
works. You believe that there is one God; you do well, the devils also believe, and
tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead”? Faith is
believing the word of God and then acting on it.
Paul said that you should work out your own salvation (Philippians 2:12-13)
wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only; but
now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”.
Paul continues to tell us how in Galatians 2:20, which says “I am crucified with Christ;
nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me”.
Paul lived by the faith of the Son of God, not his own faith.
Let us look at two examples; the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34) “and
a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years. And had suffered many
things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered,
but rather grew worse. When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind,
and touched His garment. For she said, if I may touch but His clothes, I shall be
whole. And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her
body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself,
that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press and said, who touched
My clothes? And His disciples said to Him, You see the multitude thronging You, and
say You, who touched Me? And He looked round about to see her that had done
this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her,
came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. And He said to her,
daughter your faith has made you whole; go in peace and be whole of your plague”.
You see she acted on the word of God which was in Malachi 4:2 which says “but to
you that fear (reverence) My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing
in His wings, and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall”. Even though
she could have been stoned for coming among the multitude, she came and reached
in and touched His garment.
Let us look at blind Bartimaeus, in Mark 10:46-52 it says “and they came to Jericho;
and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind
Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he
heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, You Son of
David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace, but
he cried the more a great deal, You Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus
stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying to
him, be of good comfort, rise; He calls you. And he, casting away his garment, rose,
and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said to him, what will you that I should
do to you? The blind man said to Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus
said to him, go your way; your faith has made you whole. And immediately he
received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way”.
The blind man acted on his faith by taking off his coat that allowed him to beg, and
he laid it down, you see that he was believing to receive his sight.
Good news is that our part is to read what He accomplished and believe them,
meditate on it until you can see yourself doing it. Jesus said “therefore, whosoever
hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built
his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came, and the wind
blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And
every one that hears these saying of Mine, and does them not; shall be likened to a
foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great
was the fall of it”.
We are told to “resist the devil and he will flee from you”; resisting the devil means
coming against what he says, and standing on what God says. Jesus as our
example, shows us how to defeat the devil in our lives, in Matthew chapter 4. After
He was baptized by John the Baptist, as He came up out of the water a loud voice
from heaven, saying, this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Then was
Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when
He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward hungry.
Let’s take notice of how He reacted to what the devil said to Him? The first
temptation, verses 3-4 “And when the tempter came to Him, he said, if You be the
Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said,
it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of
the mouth of God”.
The second temptation, verses 5-7 “Then the devil takes Him up into the holy city,
and sets Him on a pinnacle of the temple. And says to Him, if You be the Son of
God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning
You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, less at any time, You dash Your foot
against a stone. Jesus said to him, it is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord
your God”.
The third temptation, verses 8-10 “again, the devil takes Him up into an exceeding
high mountain, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.
And says to Him, all these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me.
Then says Jesus to him, get you from here, satan for it is written, you shall worship
the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve”.
Jesus answered all of the devil’s temptations by saying “it is written”. Then quoting
what was written concerning what the devil was tempting Him with.
The psalmist tells us to “hide the word of God in your heart”. We are told to study to
show yourselves approved. The word of God is the sword to use on the devil when
he comes. Answer the devil with the word of God. Just like Jesus did and the Bible
says “then the devil leaves Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him”
(Matthew 4:11). James tell us to “submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the
devil, and he will flee from you”.
God said “My people perish for lack of knowledge”, so let us dig in and study the
word of God, so we can have the right words to answer the devil, too. Remember
that faith is believing the word of God and then acting on it.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: May 28, 2010
The Bible tells us many times that “the just shall live by faith”. Faith is believing the
word of God and then acting upon it.
The platform of your faith has to be based on the finished work of Jesus Christ, not
on your own works (Ephesians 2:8-10) says “for by grace are you saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works, less any man
should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works,
which God has before ordained that we should walk in them”. Remember that we
were predestinate to conform to the image of His Son. That should be Good news
because this is God’s plan for us, to look and act like Jesus.
We simply look at what Jesus finished and acknowledge that we get the benefits of
the covenant that He ratified. The death burial resurrection and ascension of Jesus
Christ is what has made us reconciled to God as Adam was before the fall.
The curse which came upon Adam and Eve resulting on all mankind was broken by
Jesus and we have been set free from the curse (Galatians 3:13,29) “Christ has
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written,
cursed is every one that hangs on a tree. And if you be Christ’s then are you
Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”.
Romans 5:15-17 says “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through
the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by
grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded to many. And not as it was
by one that sinned, so is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but
the free gift is of many offences to justification. For if by one man’s (Adam’s) offence
death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the
gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ”. Reigning in life goes
back to having the dominion that God gave to mankind at the beginning (Genesis 1:
26).
Jesus gave us all power, just as He gave the twelve disciples and then the seventy
others, which He sent out two by two into every city and place; and the seventy
returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Your
name. And He said to them in (Luke 10:19), “behold, I give to you power to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by
any means hurt you”. Jesus has given us the power of attorney to use His name.
James says that faith without works is dead (James 2:17-20) “even so faith, if it has
not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say; you have faith, and I have
works; show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my
works. You believe that there is one God; you do well, the devils also believe, and
tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead”? Faith is
believing the word of God and then acting on it.
Paul said that you should work out your own salvation (Philippians 2:12-13)
wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only; but
now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”.
Paul continues to tell us how in Galatians 2:20, which says “I am crucified with Christ;
nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me”.
Paul lived by the faith of the Son of God, not his own faith.
Let us look at two examples; the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34) “and
a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years. And had suffered many
things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered,
but rather grew worse. When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind,
and touched His garment. For she said, if I may touch but His clothes, I shall be
whole. And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her
body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself,
that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press and said, who touched
My clothes? And His disciples said to Him, You see the multitude thronging You, and
say You, who touched Me? And He looked round about to see her that had done
this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her,
came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. And He said to her,
daughter your faith has made you whole; go in peace and be whole of your plague”.
You see she acted on the word of God which was in Malachi 4:2 which says “but to
you that fear (reverence) My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing
in His wings, and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall”. Even though
she could have been stoned for coming among the multitude, she came and reached
in and touched His garment.
Let us look at blind Bartimaeus, in Mark 10:46-52 it says “and they came to Jericho;
and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind
Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he
heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, You Son of
David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace, but
he cried the more a great deal, You Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus
stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying to
him, be of good comfort, rise; He calls you. And he, casting away his garment, rose,
and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said to him, what will you that I should
do to you? The blind man said to Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus
said to him, go your way; your faith has made you whole. And immediately he
received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way”.
The blind man acted on his faith by taking off his coat that allowed him to beg, and
he laid it down, you see that he was believing to receive his sight.
Good news is that our part is to read what He accomplished and believe them,
meditate on it until you can see yourself doing it. Jesus said “therefore, whosoever
hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built
his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came, and the wind
blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And
every one that hears these saying of Mine, and does them not; shall be likened to a
foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great
was the fall of it”.
We are told to “resist the devil and he will flee from you”; resisting the devil means
coming against what he says, and standing on what God says. Jesus as our
example, shows us how to defeat the devil in our lives, in Matthew chapter 4. After
He was baptized by John the Baptist, as He came up out of the water a loud voice
from heaven, saying, this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Then was
Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when
He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward hungry.
Let’s take notice of how He reacted to what the devil said to Him? The first
temptation, verses 3-4 “And when the tempter came to Him, he said, if You be the
Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said,
it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of
the mouth of God”.
The second temptation, verses 5-7 “Then the devil takes Him up into the holy city,
and sets Him on a pinnacle of the temple. And says to Him, if You be the Son of
God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning
You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, less at any time, You dash Your foot
against a stone. Jesus said to him, it is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord
your God”.
The third temptation, verses 8-10 “again, the devil takes Him up into an exceeding
high mountain, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.
And says to Him, all these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me.
Then says Jesus to him, get you from here, satan for it is written, you shall worship
the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve”.
Jesus answered all of the devil’s temptations by saying “it is written”. Then quoting
what was written concerning what the devil was tempting Him with.
The psalmist tells us to “hide the word of God in your heart”. We are told to study to
show yourselves approved. The word of God is the sword to use on the devil when
he comes. Answer the devil with the word of God. Just like Jesus did and the Bible
says “then the devil leaves Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him”
(Matthew 4:11). James tell us to “submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the
devil, and he will flee from you”.
God said “My people perish for lack of knowledge”, so let us dig in and study the
word of God, so we can have the right words to answer the devil, too. Remember
that faith is believing the word of God and then acting on it.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: May 28, 2010
